Friday, April 25, 2014

When I tried french crullers for the first time, they became my favorite doughnuts. For some reason, I thought it will be hard to make them, so I avoided them for years. I was also trying to avoid buying them, because I always worry about fried food and that black oil they use endlessly.
So, recently, I saw the recipe that looked so much easier than I thought, and I decided to give them a try. They were great, and much faster than regular yeast doughnuts. There is no need to wait for the dough to rise. Just make pate a choux, and fry. They are lighter than air, with crannies to hold sweet glaze.

Bring water, and butter to boil. Add flour, salt, and keep stirring until flour is completely incorporated. When thin film starts to coat the bottom of the pan, dough is ready. Let the dough cool down for a few minutes. Transfer it to food processor, and start adding eggs one by one. Dough should be glossy and smooth, and it should hold shape. Transfer it to the fridge, until you prepare the rest.

Cut out 12 8x8 cm squares of parchment paper. Grease squares on one side, and pipe the ring of dough with star tip. Warm up the oil in heavy bottom pan. Place a cruller paper side up into the hot oil. Use tongs to peel the parchment of the cruller. Recommended temperature for oil in the recipe was 370F/ 187C. For me, that temperature did not work. My doughnuts popped like popcorn, and completely lost their shape. I lowered the temperature to 310-320F, and they came out beautiful. Try it with one cruller, see what works best for you. When cruller turns golden, flip it, and let it fry on the other side. Transfer them to paper towels or cooling rack.

While crullers cool, make the glaze.
Mix 150 gr powder sugar, with 3 tablespoons of milk, tablespoon of honey, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
Dip the top of each cruller into the glaze, and let the drippings run of.
Glaze will set very quickly, and crullers will be ready for you to enjoy.